Acting as the middlemen between publishers and merchants, affiliate networks can be one of the best ways to monetise traffic. It’s a revamp to an old, trusted tactic of earning a finder’s fee when referring customers to a business. This marketing technique can be incredibly effective, but will only work when done right, and where publishers are able to find good quality, relevant products that their audiences are interested in.
Affiliate platforms and networks can help publishers access millions of products from a range of different merchants. It enables publishers to connect with the offers right for them and their audiences quickly and effectively.
Here, TechRound explores the top 10 affiliate networks to help your business monetise…
Top 10 Affiliate Networks:
- Indoleads Affiliate Network
- AWIN
- Amazon Associates
- ShareASale
- Avangate Affiliate Network
- ClickBank
- CJ Affiliate
- JVZOO
- Skimlinks
- eBay Partner Network
1. Indoleads Affiliate Network
Based in Southeast Asia, Indoleads Affiliate Network is a fast-growing affiliate network, on a mission to bridge the gap between advertisers and publishers. They provide a performance-based, risk-free digital marketing solution, which is claimed could instantly add 10%-25% conversions to a business.
Their CPA affiliate network is currently serving over 2000 offers in more than 180 different countries, boosting awareness of brands and ultimately helping to drive sales. Indoleads holds more than 30,000 registered, verified affiliates, driving $500 million in annual revenue for clients, with the highest total month pay out received by a top affiliate being 127k.
For advertisers, Indoleads can help reach valuable target audiences all while taking out the risk of costly advertising – users only needing to pay once their desired target action has taken place – e.g., a booking or a sale.
For affiliates, Indoleads offers access to top affiliate programs with a huge database of advertisers. Affiliates can earn commission with each desired target action they achieve. Advertisers on Indoleads includes Fiverr., Nike, Adobe, Wish, AliExpres and more.
Find Out More About Indoleads Here
2. AWIN
Formerly known as Affiliate Window, AWIN is another highly popular affiliate network to consider.
The company was founded in Germany, explaining the slight lean towards Europe in their merchant list. However, saying this, the platform still holds a number of companies in the US and across other areas of the globe. For advertisers, the AWIN network can connect to over 225,000 affiliate partners from across the world, helping to extend consumer reach, boost brand awareness and ultimately generate more sales and bookings.
For affiliates, AWIN can connect to more than 13,000 advertisers, with a range of brands and product types available, including big names like Etsy, HP and Gymshark, as well as more niche, smaller merchants.
3. Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is one of the biggest affiliate marketing programs out there, helping affiliates to turn their traffic into cash with millions of Amazon products and offerings to choose from.
The affiliate network offers a commission on most things sold on Amazon.com, providing affiliates an enormous selection of products to choose from – from some of the largest brands to the more niche products.
One great benefit for affiliates using Amazon Associates is that they can earn commission on the new purchases their referrals make, regardless of whether or not it’s the product they’ve linked to. For example, if an affiliate links to a small watch that costs £50 but the referral buys a laptop for hundreds of pounds instead, they may still be eligible for commission – so long as this occurs within the cookie duration (24 hours) and the laptop isn’t already in the cart before clicking the link.
4. ShareASale
Founded in 2000 and acquired by AWIN in 2017, ShareASale has had over two decades in the affiliate marketing game – generating 182 million in sales for 2020 alone. One major quality that makes ShareASale stand out is its solid reputation, trusted by some big brands, including OptinMonster and WP Engine, who are exclusive to the service.
For advertisers, the network offers access to more than 225,000 affiliate partners from across the world, while affiliates benefit from access to profitable partnership opportunities from their impressive portfolio. ShareASale offers affiliate opportunities for over 4,500 merchants, with a range of different products and services big and small, digital and physical.
5. Avangate Affiliate Network
While many of the affiliate networks we’ve looked at so far involve both physical and digital products, Avangate Affiliate Network focus solely on software and digital goods. Its merchants include the likes of Awario, Hide My Ass, Kaspersky and more, providing affiliates access to over 22,000 pieces of software.
This makes Avangate the perfect place for digital-focused merchants and affiliates, the affiliate network advertising commission rates of up to 85% (dependent upon the merchant you’re signed up with), which can be a lot higher than the rates found for physical products on other networks.
6. ClickBank
ClickBank, like Avangate Affiliate Network, also has a large portion of digital products on offer, but offers physical products in addition to its digital offering.
ClickBank’s merchant list can be seen as a lot more on the “smaller” end of the spectrum, with many selling online courses and eBooks. While ClickBank may not have a star-studded list of merchants, its offering can be great when certain products or services meet an affiliate’s niche.
This is one great benefit ClickBank has, offering niche products and services affiliates may not be able to find on other affiliate platforms. In addition to this, the commissions can be considerably high for most merchants.
7. CJ Affiliate
Formerly known as Commission Junction, CJ Affiliate is another top affiliate network connecting affiliates to thousands of different merchants big and small. Some of the network’s bigger merchants include Office Depot, GoPro, Grammarly and Lowes to name a few of many.
In addition to their merchants, CJ also boast an impressive list of publishers, including BuzzFeed, CNN, Klarna, ibotta and more.
CJ Affiliate covers a broad range of products and services both physical and digital, benefiting a diverse range of both merchants and affiliates. Their cookie duration is dependent upon the merchant and the minimum payout is $100 for check and $50 for direct deposit.
8. JVZOO
Relatively new to the affiliate marketing game, JVZOO was founded in 2011, and now has more than 800,000 active affiliates. The platform is completely free for affiliates to use, able to promote products and services via email lists, PPC, blogs and social media channels.
For advertisers, the affiliate payments are 100% automated, with refunds also handled automatically. JVZOO offers an extensive product range, however, this range is all digital, meaning those with physical goods and services are unable to advertise through the platform.
9. Skimlinks
Skimlinks is another great service which helps to monetise content, available for website owners and bloggers. Its technology has been developed to automatically monetise product links in commerce-related content.
Launched in 2007, Skimlinks holds more than 60,000 affiliates, and is partnered with 50 affiliate networks including CJ Affiliate, AWIN and more. Via these impressive connections, Skimlinks can provide users with over 48,500 affiliate programs, all in one place.
10. eBay Partner Network
eBay Partner Network is eBay’s affiliate network, whereby affiliates can earn commission by promoting its listings.
Affiliates can promote anything listed on eBay, providing them with access to a broad range of different products. As is the nature of eBay, most of the products available are physical, however there are digital goods available also.
One great thing about eBay Partner Network’s variety of products is their USP of being used products, great for the rising interest in sustainable second-hand purchases. The commission affiliates can earn on the network will depend on the product category, however the range advertised for this is anything from 50% to 70%. Cookie duration is 24 hours, however commission can still be earned if the auction takes a maximum of 10 days to end. The minimum payout is $10.
